Odd jointer problem, perhaps? Help!

Folks -
Ripped, jointed and fitted boards for a panel, but the edges were NOT
square to the face of the board. I did adjust the jointer fence with a
known accurate square before I started, but I have a gap on one edge (~
1/64+) I reverse jointed every other board in the panel, and that did help,
but it's still not as tight as I'd like, tho' the joinery isn't terribly
critical for this project.
If the fence is square to the bed, what the heck is going on and how could
my boards be out of square on the edge? No odd noises or anything like a
loose bearing, so... and yes, I am holding the boards against the fence
whilst jointing.
Thanks for any insight...
John Moorhead
Lakeport, CA

John,
I seriously doubt that the full length of your jointer fence is 90-deg to
the bed if you own a typical ($500 version) jointer. Consider that the
fence is not perfectly flat so when you do check it for square, you should
be placing the square just behind the cutter head on the outfeed table.
That's your reference point.
Very light pressure is needed to use the jointer and any pressure applied is
on the outfeed side, not the infeed side.
Joint a face flat, run the piece thru the planer to make the other face
parallel to the one you jointed, then joint an edge square. Use that edge
as the reference to rip the other edge parallel to the jointed edge.
When you "reverse joint" every other board, were you accidentally flipping
the boards end for end too? In effect, canceling out what you were trying
to do and cancel out the fence not being perfectly at 90-deg.
I suspect that your jointer fence is slightly warped/twisted/bent or
otherwise distorted....
Bob S.

Exactly and since it is the outfeed side that the knives are aligned
against - its the outfeed side that is used for all the reference points.
The weight of the board alone is usually all that's needed on the infeed
side, and only enough pressure on the outfeed side to keep the board
referenced against the bed or fence or both, depending on what operation
you're doing (face, edge or beveling).
Bob S.
wrote:

If the fence is square to the fence the only thing that can be wrong if the
blades are not parallel to the table. Is there any play in the cutter head?
--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA
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